Tucson Fall Fellow dedicates himself to helping President Obama pass the American Jobs Act

September 26, 2011

Those of us in the Fall Fellows program recently experienced an intense weekend of training in methods to organize our communities and convince people to become involved in President Obama’s reelection campaign. I am encouraged by the knowledge that across this nation there are hundreds of other Fellows who received this training and are taking their first steps right now in organizing their communities.

Imagine the opportunities for recruitment that come from everyday interaction. I wouldn't want any of us to be annoying in the way we go about our work. But neither would I want anyone to shy away from opportunities for engagement. Where ever you go, and whatever you might be doing, an opportunity to recruit and organize could present itself. If I'm standing at a gas pump filling my tank and the person next to me makes a remark about high gas prices, I'll remind them that President Obama and his vision for energy policy is the best bet way we have going forward to remove ourselves from our dependency on gasoline.

If I'm on the bus and an unemployed worker is complaining about the lack of jobs in this economy, I'll make sure they understand that President Obama created more jobs in one year of his administration than the second President Bush did in his eight years in office. I'll make absolutely sure that this displaced worker knows as much as I can tell him/her about The American Jobs Act and the provisions within it that will put millions of Americans back to work. And that I myself am unemployed, but working as a Fall Fellow to organizing my community.

As volunteers with Organizing for America, our work is more complicated than just laying out the truth and beating down the misinformation that permeates our society. We should take the opportunity to make the “Hard Ask”, and to bring one more person into the team working to ensure the re-election of President Obama.